Chapter Four

Silas

The airspace around the palace was far busier than I recalled ever seeing before. By the time I'd landed and shifted, a full half-dozen dragons were in line behind me, along with the dozen or so already present.

I'd arrived under the impression I was having a private meeting with the sovereign, despite her claim to the opposite, but that no longer appeared to be the case. Most of the dragons were part of the Council, the body that governed at the sovereign's whim. If they were there, then something was going down.

"Ajax," I called, waving at a familiar dragon.

The bright blue-eyed shifter wandered over my way.

"Silas. What are you doing here?" he rumbled. "Don't tell me the sovereign conned you into this bullshit as well."

I lifted an eyebrow. "I have no idea what you're talking about. What did you do this time?"

"Nothing," he rumbled, shifting uncomfortably as he pulled his black shirt back into place. "We made a deal; that's all."

"What sort of deal?"

"The same I imagine you made if you're here and not in with the Council and your father."

I shook my head. "You have me at a loss. I thought I was here to meet with the sovereign. She told me to be here today at this time."

Ajax smirked. "That sounds a lot like a deal to me. Probably the same sort of one as me."

I was starting to grow tired of his know-it-all attitude. "You're enjoying this."

"Oh, so very much." He was chuckling now. "You honestly have no idea what you've gotten yourself into?"

"No."

"Well, at least I won't be the only one suffering the humiliation."

Both my eyebrows went up. Ajax was not the sort to let himself be humiliated. What could he possibly need so badly he would agree to that?

"Just how is it we're being humiliated?"

"Did you hear about the ceasefire and terms?" Ajax asked.

"Yes. I couldn't believe she was serious. Dragons and humans? It's preposterous. Not that I was in favor of the war continuing. It was becoming a slaughter, nothing more. But to bring them here? It makes no sense."

"I said much the same when my aunt made me aware of the situation."

Ajax was part of the royal family, although not directly in line of succession. If anyone knew the sovereign better, it was her family. If even they couldn't fathom her intentions, that didn't bode well.

"What does all that have to do with us, though?" I asked.

Fully basking in my suffering for several long moments, Ajax finally relented, leaning in and placing a hand on my shoulder as he stared at me. "She's bringing the women here to be mates, Silas."

"I'm aware."

A broad grin spread. "That means there must be dragons who take them …"

I inhaled sharply, backing up a step. "You're taking a human as your mate?"

"Not just me, Silas. Not just me." He clapped me on the shoulder and headed down the stairs into the palace, leaving me to wrestle with the implication of his words.

"No," I said, denying it. "That's not possible. She wouldn't ask that of me. She can't."

Deny it though I tried, I knew he was telling the truth.

Whirling, I rushed past the guards and down into the bowels of the palace. I made a beeline for her office, expecting her to be there instead of in the throne room. If the sovereign had to put up with the entire Council today, she would spend as much of her time alone in solitude as possible before doing so. I hoped.

She was just leaving when I rounded the corner.

"Silas."

"My Sovereign," I said, drawing up stiffly into a salute. "You tricked me."

She smiled. "I see someone spilled the secret."

I just stared. "I'm not doing this. I will not mate with a human."

"Apparently, you aren't mating with a dragon either."

The sovereign slid past me, Jair, and another of her guards who was following several steps behind.

"You can't actually expect me to go in there and take one of them," I said, falling in at her side.

"Why not? What have you got to lose?" she questioned, flicking several wayward locks of platinum hair out of the way. Her eyes glittered with emerald humor. "Go in there and see what happens, Silas. You can always walk out if you want."

I clenched my jaw at her casual attitude. "You're using me."

"Of course I am," she said coolly. "Get used to it, Silas. Whenever your father finds his head and turns things over to you, you're going to find you either use people or get used. The goal is to do more of the former than the latter. As the sovereign, I must do that. Don't be childish and act petty about it."

My teeth ground together as she gave me a dressing down suited for a child with its simplistic explanation. Her point was simply to grow up. I wasn't angry at her; I was angry at myself for not seeing it ahead of time. I needed to move past that. The sovereign would use people, but it was rarely only for her own good. She preferred both sides have a stake in it.

"What do I gain from it?" I asked, curious about whether she would fill me in.

She glanced over at me, and her eyes danced. "Picture how angry it'll make your father. That should be enough."

Then she was gone, entering the Council chambers, leaving me alone to think it over.

"Damn," I cursed, hating she knew just which button to press. The question I had to ask myself was why she was trying to drive a wedge between us. What was her purpose? I wasn't sure yet, but I would keep an eye out for it.

After all, it was true. Bringing a human home would send him over the edge. It might get me temporarily exiled from the family home as well.

A broad grin spread across my face.

And wouldn't that be terrible. No stupid parties to attend. No more arguments with him. No more bullshit, at least for a time. It would reduce the likelihood of getting my proposal passed, however, so I would have to be careful not to push too far. Our family needed that. Formally annexing the new territory and installing a governor would ensure our family's power remained above our rivals for a long time to come. I had to succeed there.

But I could still piss him off a little. Perhaps bring home a human for a few days, get his blood pressure up, then call it off. Maybe he would even think I was finally taking his side if I got rid of her. That might just give me the support I needed from him.

Those thoughts powered my steps down to where the guards said the other dragons waited. There, I found myself among eight of my kind, all impatient for it to begin. Like me, I figured most of them were not there by their own choice. Including Ajax, who exchanged a nod with me from across the room.

Then it was time. We chose our spots. I decided to go early but not first. Second would give me a good selection without the pressure of being the first dragon to choose a human mate.

When it was my turn, I shifted into my dragon form and entered the room, letting my gaze and bestial mind wander across the row of seven women. They were tiny and scared, moving away as I stepped fully into the cavern, the watchful eyes of the sovereign and Council staring down at us from above.

This is a waste of time, I decided, my dragon still uncaring.

We moved to the fourth woman in line. And then the fifth. The sixth. Then.

Like a lightning bolt, my attention swung back to the previous woman. My claws dug deeper into the rocky ground as my dragon came alert in a heartbeat.

She was tall for a woman, with short brown hair just long enough to be tied back behind her neck. A pair of lightweight black pants hung loosely over what appeared to be two very shapely long legs. A navy blue zippered jacket obscured her upper half, though it sat tight along her shoulders. She was in shape. Even her stance was confident. Perhaps that was what attracted me. Of all the women, she wasn't terrified.

Scared, yes, her face betrayed that emotion clearly, twisting the tanned skin as her eyes widened at my sudden attention. My head lowered, sweeping forward slightly to eye her more closely. I inhaled her scent, easily discerning it from the other women because it was the only one that spoke to me. But I couldn't place it. There was a hint of something a little too faint to pick up. Not when the cloying terror of the other women overpowered it.

"You," I said, choosing her out of them all, still awestruck by my dragon's reaction.

It wasn't possible. Was it?

"Me?" she said, her voice barely shaking despite her apparent fear.

"Yes. You will come with me," I growled and shifted into my human form, extending a hand.

She shuffled forward without a look back at the others. Oh, yes, she was strong, whether she knew it or not.

We strode from the room at one another's side, and the huge stone door rumbled closed behind us.

Only then did I realize I'd committed myself to this course. To bringing home a human.

Things were about to get very interesting, indeed.